Reversed
by Mimajo
Summary: Arcee and her human friends are accidentally taken to a world that mirrors theirs in many ways. Friend has turned to foe and foe turn to friend. The shattered glass universe is one to explore!
1. A Grim Start

**Hello! I'm just budding in ta tell you that I've made some tweaks to the storyline to better suit what's gonna happen. This also happens around the time 'Darkmount, NV' would happen in the canon timeline.**

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Arcee's back throbs, her audios ring, and her mind is blanked. In the War, she survived far worse explosions by running and hoping for the best, but with the humans to protect, it's different, she gathered and wrapped her arms around the three children, taking most of the pain for them, and she feels the injuries it wrought. The explosion may not have severely hurt even the humans, but the shrapnel has. Slowly she lets go, the children lean on her while everyone has a swirling sensation in them as the last of the groundbridge glows until death, like the campfire it blew out that formally kept the humans warm. Cinders dance in the air and float down, charcoal and burning wood glitter the places it settles, including Arcee. She brushes it off and frowns at the flickering lights and equipment.

"Is anyone hurt?" She worries and looks for any severe injuries, Miko and Jack shake their heads, while Raf looks at the destruction and wipes his cheek with his dirtied sleeve.

"It's all my fault," his voice cracks as tears stream down his face "I didn't do the calculations right, I could've done better!" His tears blacken with soot and glisten with the energon colored lights.

"Raf, it's not your fault, it's mine, for pushing you so hard. You're still a kid!"

"Ow," Miko groans and puts pressure on where she feels pain "man, why didn't it hurt before?!" The soreness she felt on her arm and thigh turn into sharp pains as they start to bleed. She rests against the wall next to Jack, who coughs the ash from his lungs. He feels scratches and scrapes wetting with blood and swats away burning cinder from his neck with a hiss.

"C'mon, let's get you three some air." She gently ushers them out of the thick room to the egress of the Harbinger.

The world outside is frigid, and galling to their skin, the clearing the Harbinger made during its crash allows the icy wind to reach their ground at full strength. The clean air are but icy needles to their warm lungs, the wind messes their hair and before them is a darkness thick as bear fur, the only thing giving them vision is the Cybertronian flashlight Arcee holds. She uses it to look into the wealds of pine, in the slumber of winter are fewer animals to fear, which brings her relief. The ternion of children shiver and huddle, Arcee looks with regret at them, thinking next time to take them elsewhere in the ship.

"I think you three got enough fresh air, why not call it a night?" Arcee's warm exhaust fogs into the night as she spoke, the others nod and go further inside while Arcee presses the button to close the door, the door itself buffers and does not close all the way, but it is enough to keep animals out.

They head to one of the remaining quarters for soldiers long dead, and Arcee carries Raf and Jack after they get too tired to tread. Meanwhile, Miko continues next to Arcee and holds her head high, limping as the pain on her lower leg slows her "Miko," Arcee looks over tiredly "stop putting weight on your leg, let me carry you."

"No," Miko stubbornly huffs "I can make it! You have Jack and Raf _already_, you can't carry me too!" She clenches her fists and looks straight ahead.

"You'd be surprised~, " Arcee smirks, glad to see Miko still hasn't lost her strife.

Arcee places Jack and Raf in the sleeping bags Bulkhead always kept, due to Miko's love of camping, and her tendency to blandish her friends into to joining. Miko hugs her knees and stares into the fire Arcee ignited. Their three sleeping bags are kept at a distance from the new fire that still warms, but doesn't harm if they were to reach. Arcee watches over them as she lays on her berth, her mind wandering to Bulkhead and Bumblebee and why they have not returned, their trip for supplies should have ended hours ago.

"Wish I could call them," Arcee mutters and curls up.

"Maybe they got lost in the snow," Miko hopes and looks at Arcee with her hazel eyes struggling to stay awake "or they can't see in the dark...and are staying put somewhere." Arcee hums as Miko goes into her sleeping bag.

"I pray to the Allspark that's true."

"おやすみ。" _(oyasumi/good night)_ Miko yawns, leaving alone Arcee with her thoughts.

Arcee ignores or replies, with insult, to the few flirts Tailgate sends her way to try to include her in a conversation with his friend, and doesn't notice the blue blush on her cheeks as he does. After defeat at one of the battles before Cybertron's fall, her team returned to their humble basecamp somewhere. The defeat, while tragic, did not reap their spirits, for hope was still high that they can return to civilian life, one without the War, without losing any more good bots with bright futures ahead of them. She remembers how she extolled them, and lo, how dearly she misses those times. Her pining then drifts her memories to her most somber hours.

Arcee gasps and shoots up, waking with a start. The screams of her memories die and are replaced by Jack worriedly shaking her awake.

"Arcee." Jack rubs her forearm, a method he knows soothes her. She trembles with pain in her spark and leans to his touch. After the shaky spell of comforting, reposed, Arcee then messes Jack's tangled hair and he stops rubbing her shoulder. They lock optics and eyes as they share a small smile of reassurance and trust. Behind Jack, a charcoaled log breaks and tumbles down, throwing cinders into the air, which die. The fire is near death, it pops and sizzles as Miko puts another log from a small pile.

"Wake up, sleepy head." Miko tosses an empty can of corn at Raf, who groans and reaches for his cracked glasses. For breakfast, she uses the meager fire to warm up corn in an iron pan. Jack looks over and frowns as the last can is used.

"We should go buy supplies, we can't wait for Bulkhead and Bumblebee any longer."

"I'm coming with," Miko stands up "there's _no _way I'm eating another can of corn!" Arcee chuckles and Raf watches.

"But what about me?" Raf frowns, the group looks at him then at one another.

"Stay here and keep watch in case Bulkhead and Bee comes back." Raf slumps in his chair "C'mon, you went with me last time!"

"Yeah..." Raf almost cracks a smile.

Outside is bright with snow, the sun alas shines and warms the air to a thick honey, the smell of pine is sweet and sharp against the smell of smoke on them. Raf stays near the flickering monitors while Arcee takes Jack and Miko to an amply small town in Canada. At the local grocery store, they walk the aisles of food and load a shopping cart while Arcee keeps a lookout outside. The locals buying food stare at the two with odd eyes, making Miko shift uncomfortably.

"We can pay for this, right?"

"Of course, Miko," Jack glares at one of the women who stares "I still have the card."

"It better work!" Miko huffs and puts cans of baked beans in the cart.

"Yeah," Jack mutters "it better..." They get several cans of vegetables, other than corn, along with locally made cookies. Jack puts in two large jugs of water, toilet paper, and soap, while Miko puts in camping materials and a box of maxi pads. Deeming it meeting Arcee's newly expanded capacity, they head for the cashier, who needs to come out to scan all of the goods. The middle-aged cashier's dark eyes widen as she scans, her two braids dangle as she bends over to continue scanning the things at the bottom of the cart, they can see that she looks at them as she works.

"Do I need to call the police?" Her brown features wrinkle with concern.

"No," Jack forces a chuckle "it's just a camping trip gone wrong. Dad accidentally set our tents on fire."

"Yeah, his dad is sorry though, and we're going to his house after this," Miko adds, to which the cashier hums in acknowledgment.

"Better keep him away from fire from now on."

"Yeah," Jack half smiles.

"That'll be C$157.73," getting the card out of his wallet, he holds his breath, then swipes it and types in the pin. Miko looks over, once it finally beeps their lips perk with relief "want the receipt?" They shake their heads and watch her throw the crumpled paper away.

"Thanks." They go outside and hurriedly load the goods into Arcee's new sidecar.

The roads to the Harbinger are icy and as they near-unplowed. Arcee does her best not to get stuck in the deep snow, but with her wheels unmade for it, it proves difficult. Unbeknownst to them, however, they have a watcher in the low clouds, Laserbeak, whose white colors blend in with the sparse clouds and snow owls, records their location.

The Deployer shows the live feed to Decepticon Outpost Omega One, where Megatron Prime and his team tensely gaze at the monitors. Megatron's bright blue optics look hard with concern for the humans and sees the bags of groceries they have in the sidecar, his filed down talons cup his square chin with thought. The armor he wears is bulky like his counterpart, but they are studded and rounded and shine like silver. Soundwave, who looks unchanged aside from his whiteness and green biolights, turns to his leader.

"What happens next is up to you, Prime." Megatron carefully examines the body language of the children.

"Hmm, let us observe further, then decide that must be done." Knockout, a curvy blue femine with an optic patch, uncrosses her heavily scarred arms.

"I can go check once they've stopped." Breakdown, who stands next to her, gasps and looks at his friend in worry with his golden optics

"Alone?! You need backup!" Knockout chuckles and pats her larger friend's arm.

"Relax, Champ! I can just go with Nightwave," her smirk of artifice then turns into a moue "not like Prime's gonna let me go _otherwise_." Nightwave scoffs, causing Megatron to chuckle, and watches as Nightwave complains about not being good enough company for her.

Arcee almost drops the bags as she did her jaw, the two teens gawk and gasp at the sight. The Harbinger looks like a computer glitch brought to life, parts of it they recognize, and parts are of a lissome ship with cubic designs. Raf runs out to greet them with a grin until he sees them stunned.

"Uh, hello?" He raises a brow then turns around, gasping when he too sees.

"Woah, what happened to that ship?!" A strange voice asks, they gasp and whip around to see a red bot with black designs, walking into the clearing they stand in with their servos in the air in surrender "Relax, I'm not here to hurt you!" He shouts with panic as Arcee's blaster was about to fire, but doesn't-much to his relief, yet her blaster remains ready and her optics narrowed at him, the kids instinctively rush to hide, with some hesitation from Miko, into the deformed ship and watch from afar.

"Who are you?!"

"My common name's Steve, and I've been sent here to help those humans of yours." He points with his chin at the entrance, making the kids hide deeper in.

"And who gave the order?!" Arcee scowls and stalks closer to Steve.

"Prime of course! He's worried sick about them!" Her optics widen and her blaster lowers.

"He's alive?!" A grateful smile creeps her thin lips.

"Of course," he chuckles until she lifts her aim at him again.

"Then prove it!"

"_How_?" Steve's thick optic ridge raises in confusion "Look, just give me the kids and we'll give you energon," he looks at Arcee's caved in midriff and hears her tanks growl at the mention of food. Arcee covers her midriff with her arm and sneers as she sees his insignia proudly on his chassis "it sounds like you can use it. All of-"

"You're not taking them anywhere and putting them in danger, 'Con!"

"Okay, bad wording, but the whole point here is to get them _out _of danger! They'll be free to go where ever they want! Prime also wants to know who you are, so you can come with!"

"I'm Arcee!" She rumbles with wrath, Steve's red optics widen and he thinly frowns.

"Then why is your signature so different?! Last we checked, indigo isn't your color either!"

"How long have you been able to see my signature?!"

"Since that energy surge in the Harbinger, how did you even do that?! That place's stripped clean!"

"Tell that to Starscream, he's the one who left a half working groundbridge there."

"He what?! He's never _been _in the Harbinger!" The crunching of snow from another catches their attention.

"Okay, this is taking _way _too long." Arcee looks to see Knockout walking out of the wealds, her optics widen, a bot so recognizable, yet completely new causes shock, even as Steve is uncomfortably close and continues to advance she stares "My name is Knockout, we aren't here to fight, but we will if we have to."

"_Knockout_?! Since when were you _blue_?!"

"Since forever." Knockout crosses her arms, seeing Arcee too shocked to attack, and sees her distraction working.

"How is that possible, last I saw you, you weren't the mech to keep those _scars _of yours!"

"Then you must have me mistaken for some other bot, last I checked," she motions to the world behind her "there's no other Knockout here. I've _always _been this way." Steve moves behind Arcee, entrapping her arms with his, she growls and kicks as she's unable to reach the ground.

"Gargh! Let me go you slagger!" She unleashes her arm blades and stabs him, he cries out and lets go, only to get kicked down to the snow. Arcee then runs at Knockout, who gets out her electric prod, which glints under the gentle sun as she spins it.

"The hard way it is then!" Knockout grins with excitement and strikes her attacker, who fails to dodge her strike, Arcee is then snatched by the neck and chucked into a tree. The pine breaks in two and hurts her back upon landing, she hits her head on another tree and sees stars. She sees double of Knockout swinging her crackling prod and stalking closer. Arcee, who waits and feigns unrecovery until Knockout is near, swoops under Knockout's legs and slices her inner thigh. Energon sprays and gushes, Knockout winces and clutches her thigh and is then kicked facedown to the snow. Arcee was about to stomp on her injury but is kicked back "There is _no _way I'm letting you win!" Knockout stands and unleashes her saws, Arcee growls and charges. Once they clash their weapons tear at each other like dogs, energon from their arms fly with sparks, Arcee ducks and slices Knockout's vulnerable midriff, at the price of a slice to her shoulder. Knockout looks down to feel the energon she bleeds-and smiles "My~, finally, someone as good a fighter as I!" Arcee growls and leaps from a wall of the Harbinger, the two warriors move past each other, their blades slash, and Knockout's saw hooks onto Arcee's forearm.

"Argh!" Her arm halts.

"Knockout," Steve shouts "she's had enough!" Knockout takes no heed to Steve, she gets Arcee by the helm and slams it against the wall "KNOCKOUT!" Steve rushes over and cradles an unconscious Arcee's head.

"She started it, Nightwave, I warned her!"

"Your warning was fragging terrible!" Steve holds Arcee in his arm like a limp stuffed animal "This was supposed to be a _peaceful _mission!"

"Plans change," Knockout smirks "now let's find the humans."

"Too late, they've been watching you the whole time!" Knockout looks to where Steve points, the trio is terrified and in the Harbinger

"Frag," Knockout curses under her vent "um...we come in peace?" The children's held in cries erupt, Miko clenches her fists and her knuckles turn white, and Raf stops trying to keep his cries quiet. Steve gulps and nears as much as he can without them backing away.

"Please don't cry," he kneels and softens his expression "we're not here to hurt you. I promise. Where are you three from?"

"Jasper," Jack whispers.

"What are kids from Jasper doing all the way out here?" Steve smiles comfortingly.

"What are you gonna do to Arcee?" Asks Jack, ignoring Steve's question.

"I really don't know," sighs Steve "hopefully, she won't freak out when we bring her along. I was hoping to chat and give all four of you a nice meal, maybe ask why she's changed so much."

"She's the same as she's always been." Steve raises an optic ridge and sees that Jack is serious.

"Well, now it's even more confusing! How do you know her anyway?"

"Nightwave," Knockout comes over with the limp she hides "it's time to go, we can talk about this more after they're outta danger." Miko's monolid eyes narrow with rage.

"The only danger here is you, ろくでなし!" (_rokudenashi_/asshole!)

"But what about this cold," Steve frowns softly "you'll freeze to death out here. To add to that, you can get sick if you don't wash up, and by the looks of it, you haven't had a bath in a long time. You'll all die if you stay." The trio frowns and looks at their dirty clothes. Knockout looks away and to the trees as she calls Soundwave for a bridge, which opens nearby.

"Let's go," Knockout starts to head for the bridge as Steve motions for them to follow.

"It's okay, I know that I may look scary, but, I'm a really nice bot. As for your unconscious friend here, we'll make sure she's comfy too!" Hesitant and afraid, they follow.

On the other side, the trio can't help but feel comforted. The enormous rooms sized for a Cybertronian are made of rock, which is smoothened, they see its layers and the different cables stapled to the wall running to different equipment. On the monitors is Soundwave, who rushes over while Breakdown grins and shakes his fists near his large chassis in excitement.

"Yay~!" He quietly cheers. Knockout comes through before Steve.

"She's comatose, but let's made sure the kids are-"

"Ah~~!" The frightened shrill erupts from Arachnid upon seeing Arcee in Steve's arms, with her slender arachnoid legs she scales the thick cables to reach the ceiling, Breakdown shrieks from startlement and clings to Knockout.

"Arachnid!" Knockout scolds, her voice boiling "Stop being terrified of everything! She's comatose! Climb _down_!" Steve sighs, as does Megatron.

"Prime," Steve starts "I don't think she's with Soluto, anymore at least, when I mentioned you...she acted different." The rest of the teams creeps closer "She was trying so hard to protect those kids, she was scared that we'd hurt them."

"So?!" Soundwave huffs, his shoulders tense and high, and his visor displaying ':(' "That energy surge could've scrambled her circuits!"

"But then how did it change her energy signature," Starscream interrupts and all optics turn to him, his large blue optics look at Arcee, his wings tuck in behind him, and blushes a soft baby blue "s-sorry for interrupting, but if you think about it, Arcee has half of her left arm missing and replaced with a small cannon. There aren't any materials to build even an arm, let alone one identical to her old one in the Harbinger." Megatron hums in thought.

"You do hold an excellent point," the Prime turns to Steve "Nightwave, take her to the interrogation room, but don't make her bindings too tight." Steve nods and leaves to do so "Knockout-" when he turned to her he sees her clinging to a wall to avoid getting dragged to the Med-bay by Breakdown. He sighs and turns to the petrified guests "I apologize for not greeting you here. I know you're scared, but we brought you here because we saw the circumstance you were in."

"Perhaps you'll be more comfortable with the children here." Starscream smiles until Shockwave barges into their view.

"Hello~~! I'm Shockwave!" The scientist's voice is bubbly and cheerful-despite its deepness "Oh wow, you look so much like Dexter!" He turns to the platform blocked from the trio's view "Dexter, look, it's your twin!" The trio leans to the side to see who this Shockwave spoke to, but can't see them from where they are.

"Who's Dexter?"

"That'll be me." They look at the stairs, a boy, with the same height and age as Raf, stands at the bottom. The boy wears no glasses, thus his brown eyes are more awake than Raf's. His black shirt with neon designs ruffles as he uncrosses his arms while his knee pokes out of the tear on his jeans as he heads over. Raf adjusts his cracked glasses at the boy's facial similarities then nervously fixes his hair, which does not have neon orange highlights like the boy does. Raf hears the boy's spiked bracelets jingle until he's in front of them "My name's actually Rafael, but only my parents call me that."

"You," Raf stutters "you look like me!" Dexter looks Raf over, with furrowed brows his brown eyes widen and he frowns in bewilderment. The soft clicking of heels snap them from their wild realization, walking down the stairs with a slender hand on the railing is a girl who looks like Miko, but with a mellow face. The stairway is short and does not take her long to be by Dexter. Her hair is undyed and let down past her shoulders, she wears a blouse with its sleeves to her elbows and black palazzo pants. Her heels are short and in her arms are blankets, which she offers for the trio to take.

"Here, you must all be exhausted from what I've heard." They each take a blanket and feel their bodies warm in them "I'm Nakadai Miko," The girl does a Japanese styled bow and smiles at them warmly "but please call me Nakadai-san. My family moved here from Japan a few years ago."

"Oh...my...gosh," Miko gasps, despite her exhaustion "we have the exact names!" Both girls' hazel eyes widen, Nakadai shrugs with a polite smile.

"What a coincidence then!" They all fail to notice Shockwave's burdened shuffle.

"These are the people Knockout an' Steve found?" A voice much like Jack's own confuses him further, Jack looks at who spoke and sees a young man walking down the stairs, he wears rancher clothing, his skin is colored by the sun, and a straw of hay runs along his messy raven hair.

"Yep!" Dexter's confused face doesn't change.

"Why do you look like me?" The boy asks Jack.

"That's because there's a chance he _is _you." Shockwave interrupts, his deep voice rumbling in his chassis "Remember that energy surge?" Dexter nods to the uncomfortably close Shockwave, who holds a datapad recording them with both his servos holding it "Well, if what Night said is true, then that groundbridge they were trying to fix might've opened a space-time conduit instead! Creating an Einstein-Rosen bridge, or an Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen paradox and put copies from their universe to our own!"

"WHAT?!" Miko cries.

"So what are your names?!"

"Wait, so we're stuck in another _universe_?!" Jack gasps "Why couldn't it just be the Shadowzone again?!" He hides his face in the blanket and groans. Raf frowns and adjusts his broken glasses, one of the legs came loose.

"How are we gonna get home?"

"Don't worry," Shockwave smiles with his voice "we'll find a way."

"I'm Jack by the way..." Jack sighs, the boy looks at him.

"I'm Jackson, Jackson Jenson." Jackson offers to shake Jack's hand, he accepts it.

"Why not take them to the showers and get them some clean clothes," Nakadai buds in "they smell." The trio frowns and self consciously try to scratch off the dried bean stains from yesterday's dinner.

"It's been rough," Jack mumbles, Nakadai then motions for them to follow.

"I bet, doesn't look like whatever happened, happened yesterday."

"So what did happen?" Jackson adds in, Nakadai and Dexter nod and look at the trio.

"Shit went down and the 'Cons found us," Miko scowls at the memory "we had to take a groundbridge to different parts of the country. It took us _weeks _to find each other again!" The trio's counterparts raise a brow and Jack takes notice.

"Where we're from, the Decepticons are the bad guys."

"R-Really?" They turn around, they are at the mouth of the hall and see Arachnid slowly climbing down. Instead of being black as death, she is as white as snow under the morning sun, her once pink optics and biolights are now as gold as clover honey, and her facial markings are vined swirls, instead of obsidian daggers. The trio nods and looks at her features in a fix of fear and wonder.

As the trio stares at Arachnid with an odd fascination, Megatron, Starscream, and Soundwave stand together in a corner. With their seeker hearing, they were able to listen in on the conversation.

"Do you think what Shockwave said is _true_?" Muses Starscream, Megatron cups his chin and hums.

"That would explain a lot of the things that we saw that simply didn't make sense."

"How will we break it to her," Soundwave sighs "we barely found out about her and already I know she's gonna give us a hard time!"

"Maybe I can give her some of my energon cookies?!" Starscream hopes, Megatron cannot help but smile and softly chuckle.

"_Maybe _after she calms down."


	2. Interrogation

Arcee's spark pounds in its chamber at the same pace it would when fighting. Around her is a calm dark, while inside are horrors of the past that wiggle and worm into her dreams until she awakes with a gasp. Her body pushes against metal cuffs on her wrists and ankles. She looks at her binding with the meager light coming from a bulb above her. She struggles against the binding until a human designed door opens with a gentle creak. Warm light is then shed into the room, she sees the outline of Megatron as he walks in, his steps are gentle despite his size. Closely behind him is Starscream, whose shoulders are high, arms close to his chassis, and wings halfway down.

"We're not here to hurt you," the Prime softly speaks, Arcee grunts as she resumes struggling.

"Where are the kids?!"

"The children are safe, they're most likely cleaning themselves up." Starscream softly closes the door behind them, his large blue optics lock with Arcee's, who scowls at the two.

"What do you want from me?!"

"Nothing. We came here to see if you're all right and to tell you something, which you might not presume true." Arcee visibly tenses and holds her vent in with antipathy "We overheard them telling our human companions of the incident. I apologize if we have intruded, but, it wasn't an explosion despite what you've endured, what you truly created was something that brought you from your world to ours, Arcee." The indigo femine freezes and widens her optics in shock "Shockwave will show you the data if you don't believe me."

"We're dearly regretful for strapping you down to the chair like this, but we cannot have you endangering anyone near you," Starscream's gentle, high energy voice astonishingly isn't scratchy from strangulation and abuse, which sends Arcee further into denial. Suddenly the door swings open and hits the wall as an excited Shockwave hurries in.

"Sorry I'm late!" His single optic beams bright blue as he skips over.

"Don't make this a habit, Shockwave." Megatron lightly chides, the cyclops mech nods as the spines on his back slack in apology. He then pulls out a scanner and almost hits Arcee in the face as he shows her.

"Shockwave," Megatron warns "calm yourself before someone gets hurt." Shockwave's back spines cringe as the last light the door granted is sealed away and he distances the scanner so Arcee can easily see the results, she sends him a hostile glare and looks. The scanner shows her mostly healthy and in need of energon, but the true highlight of her focus is the spark reading, she sees alert labels and the standard of a spark hers is compared to-has an opposite polarity.

"I double checked," Shockwave starts, his voice much calmer than before "the structure of your spark isn't triangular like ours, and your polarity's reversed." A long silence ensues, Arcee's spark pounds and her mind races. She now knows why Bulkhead and Bumblebee never returned from the scouting mission, they must be deeply distressed, trying to know where the dear humans they care for and their compeer, have gone to. She doesn't notice Prime and Starscream looking at each other as though they are having a conversation, and Shockwave is busy with the scanner as she looks into oblivion. She flinches once Starscream looks at her and breaks the silence.

"Why don't we turn on the lights?" The sky blue orbs of Starscream's optics turn away, she hears his light, sharp steps and the tap of a button. Soft, white light brightens the room, all cringe until their optics quickly adjust. She now sees the genuine smile Starscream wears, his armor may still have the same matte luster she recognizes, but the small comfort of familiarity is washed away by the blue accents and complete lack of scars from abuse. His unbent wings are high and the only form of injury is a small bruise on the crook of his neck, which glows a dim ocean blue with pine green smudged around it "Better?" Arcee tenses, uncomfortable seeing how he is waiting for her answer, she stutters and shrugs awkwardly.

"I hope it isn't too soon, but I find it a good time as ever for introduction," the Prime's formal stance is then set at ease "my name is Megatron Prime, leader of the Decepticons. We took you to our base in the mountains, which was gifted to us by the U.S. Government," He then motions to Starscream "and this here is Starscream, my trusted second in command."

"Guilty~!" The seeker chirps and hops over, seeming to never touch the ground.

"And I'm Shockwave!"

"If you hadn't figured it out already, he's overly excitable."

"Yeah," his back spines slouch "but I can't help it, Earth is so exciting, and now there's someone from_ another universe_!" Arcee raises an optic ridge and feels less hostile and tense seeing no real danger aside from getting accidentally smacked with a scanner.

"How long have you been here then?"

"Not long, I've been here almost a deca-cycle. I found the Team after they had a huge battle on Cybertron, it'd been _so long_ since I saw another Cybertronian, I flipped out and nearly crushed Starscream! I nearly cried my optic out after they told me Prime had to destroy the Omega Lock."

"It was an emotional solar-cycle for all of us," Starscream's smile fades and his wings lower "it had to be done before it was to be aimed at Earth.

"Damn right!" Shockwave whips his fists "I haven't been on Earth long, but I'm loving it and am grateful they saved it! And there's a chance we could get the Omega Lock all fixed up! I also brought a predacon to help!"

"You brought a _what_?!" Panic is imminent.

"I used fossils and cloned them! It was hard with the broken CNA, but it'll be even easier with the old bones of my old clones here!"

"Don't worry, he's a total sweetspark," Starscream assures her, Arcee closes her gaping mouth and calms down despite her restraints " he doesn't like to fight, but will if he has to!"

"What is it like in your world?" Asks the Prime "What happened to make you and the humans you protect hide in the Harbinger?"

"To be honest, it was all a blur...but our base was destroyed," she confesses "I don't know if anyone is left."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Starscream's wings droop like a sad dog's ears "I hope everyone made it out okay!"

"Coincidently, we also discovered the Autobot's base recently," Arcee looks up, unsure what to feel at the news "it was located underground in the Sakha region of Russia, and we launched a silent operation to infiltrate it. With the help of American secret operatives, we destroyed their network and stole much of their files. No one was harmed, I assure you, and we went accordingly when there were the least amount of Autobots."

"Where are they now?"

"They're in a panic," Starscream answers "so with Soluto's resources now astray, we can expect the reconstruction of the Omega Lock to start soon."

"How many of you are there?"

"We have a small army, just about the size of Soluto's army. In Earth's moon is a colony of neutrals, who don't like to be bothered with helping either side."

"Who is Soluto?" Finally asks Arcee, Megatron sighs and his shoulders slump. Shockwave looks over and tenses.

"Someone I once considered to be very close..."

"Would you like me to take those cuffs off?" Starscream offers, changing the subject to not have Megatron sadden further "Just don't hurt us-please!"

"That is not wise," Megatron sighs "until we're sure you will not harm any one of us we cannot let you roam free. For now, we'll take you to one of the rooms we have available. We'll be sure you're comfortable."


	3. Making Freinds

Without another word, Arcee is put in cuffs and escorted out of the room to be lead down the long hall outside. She looks to the sides to see the mech from before to her right and another to the left, and remembers the bot-to-her-right's name to be 'Steve'. Now with no strife, she can take the time to notice his wine red armor and black accents, interestingly enough, his armor is light-even by seeker standards. She allows her gaze to lower to see his lower torso wrapped in soft metal mesh, the puncture wounds from before just starting to heal. They soon make it to an ironclad door, the bulky seeker to her left opens it and she's ushered inside. She looks back, through the thick window at the top, to watch them linger and leave. With the sudden silence she looks around the room she's kept, the floor is concrete, just as the rest of the base, the walls, on the other hand, are painted lavender. Wearied, she slides her back down the wall, careful of her winglets, and rests her heavy head on her knees.

To Jack, Miko, and Raf, it has been forever ago since their dirtied skin felt the cleansing of hot water and soap, but as well as they showered, it didn't ease the shock. Now wearing clothes their counterparts lent them, they walk out to the hall and see Nakadai waiting for them, intensely reading on her phone. Jack clears his throat to snap her out of it, she looks up and sees him.

"Is it a good read?" Raf smiles.

"It is," Nakadai nods. Miko frowns and rolls up her sleeves with a sigh.

Together they invigoratingly make their way to the lounge, where their other counterparts wait

"So, how are we going to get you back to your world?" Nakadai asks.

"We don't know if the ship even has the data," Raf worries "even _if _it did, we don't know if it'd work."

"But one of you nerds can find a way!" Miko teases, she herself doubtful, Nakadai hums in thought.

"Maybe Shockwave and Starscream can find a way, and until then, try not to worry, it won't do anyone any good. Why not learn about each other instead?" She adds a bounce to her steps with a hidden thrill, making her palazzo pant legs ripple larger with motion.

Awaiting them is Dexter and Jackson, who are sharing answers and helping one another with their homework until they hear Nakadai's short heels clacking on the steps.

"Hey, Miko, are they done?" Nakadai nods and the trio also reach their view, their counterparts' clothes unmatching them.

"Eh, not bad," Jackson shrugs with a frown "but now we _definitely _need ta get 'em their own clothes."

"Agreed," Jack looks at the worn down but cleaned leather boots "this ranching stuff really isn't my style."

"Well, it isn't for everyone!" Jackson heartily chuckles. The trio sits down on a couch and relishes in its softness.

"This place looks a lot nicer than ours," Raf smiles and saddens "but I still miss our old base."

"Can you tell us more about what happened?" Miko scowls at the memory.

"We got kidnapped by the 'Cons, they used us to blackmail the 'Bots into giving them the Omega Keys. Just as we got back home, we had to bridge outta base, they found out where it was and put a giant Tower of _Death _next to us!" The counterparts register the information with empathy, grateful to not be able to sympathize.

"Hey," Dexter smiles "since you're _still alive_, why not go to my house?"

"Are you forgettin' about how many people are at your house?!" Jackson protests "Your siblings don't even like it when _we _visit!" Dexter crosses his arms in defeat and leans further into the couch with a mellow growl.

"Why not go to Jasper to shop for clothes, then we can go to _your _house instead." Nakadai suggests to Jackson, who smiles at the idea "Can we agree on that?"

"Fine, but Steve's taking us!" Dexter declares and slides down the rails to then run to Steve.

"Wow, looks like someone's been taking cool-kid lessons, Raf could totally use some!" Miko leers at Raf.

"I'm right here."

"I can see the difference," Nakdai smiles "maybe it's because his parents always spoil him." Raf frowns and enviously looks over the rails to watch Dexter talking to the bot they first met "He thinks he can do whatever he wants, he isn't all that bad however, he can be nice."

"What about you?" Jackson smiles hopefully at Jack "How's your dad over there?"

"Dad isn't in the picture...he left us for someone else when I was little."

"Oh," his mood drops "I know what that's like...my mom left when I was still a baby, and Dad never likes to talk about why. I guess more than one thing's switched up between us. So what does your mom do?"

"She's a nurse at the local hospital, and what about Dad, what does he do?" Jackson looks at him with wide blue eyes, not originally thinking of both their parents as both of theirs.

"U-um...he's a rancher, he used ta be an architect, but he didn't like it and changed careers, he tells me that story _all _the time." He smiles and chuffs "He also likes it when the Team goes ta the farm, bet he likes the free labor."

"Mom knows too, but she's always so _stressed _when we're with them!"

"Can't blame her, and that jus' means she's worried about you!"

"I guess you're right...and I hope Ratchet got her out of Jasper in time..."

"Look, I may not know Ratchet where you're from, but I'm sure he got her out!" Jack smiles.

"Hey," shouts Dexter from afar "c'mon already! I'm dying of boredom here!" Nakadai rolls her eyes and motions everyone to follow her downstairs.

"Let's go, I'm sure there's enough room..."

Inside Steve's vehicle mode is larger than it appears from the outside, with an extra row of seats pulled up, everyone gets in. Nakadai sits in the driver's seat with Jack in the passenger's, Dexter and Raf sit in the middle row, and Jackson and Miko sit in the last row. With everyone inside, Steve drives through a long, paved route. Upon making their egress, the trio becomes awestruck at the rocky, green mountain, and see that the earth is as red as it was in their former home.

"Woah," Miko gasps "this place is a lot greener than our Jasper!"

"Huh," Jackson looks outside his window "granted it isn't as green as up north but Jasper's a _desert _where you're from?" She nods.

"Yep, oh, and, since you're a rancher, does that mean you're a cowboy?!" Jackson smiles and chuckles.

"Depends on how ya look at it, so I guess that'd be a 'yes'."

"Cool!" Raf smiles then turns back to his counterpart "So what do you like to do?"

"Hang with these guys mostly, but I still like to go with my old friends, they're still in middle school. We hang out at one of their houses and play Fortnight" Upon overhearing this, Miko undoes her seat-belt and pokes her head into their space.

"So, you're Raf but without the nerdy part, right?!" She smirks, her eyes narrow with josher at an offended Raf.

"Miko!" Dexter chuckles and rolls his eyes.

"Take it your Miko doesn't know much about not yelling in the car?"

"It's not _that _bad, is it?" Everyone nods in unison, Miko crosses her arms and huffs as she begrudgingly puts back on her seat-belt. For a moment there is silence.

"Thought you'd all be freaking out, is it still sinking in?" Steve suddenly asks, his voice is heard from the speakers and the radio, and in response the trio shrugs.

"It's not the craziest thing that happened to us," Jack groans, breaking his silence, Steve hums in response "_but _it's definitely up there..." The three don't notice the open road gate they pass and don't acknowledge the short bumpiness as Steve drives through.

"I suppose that after your base was destroyed, you really don't have the energy to be shocked, right?"

"_Bingo_."

"So do you know me in your world?" Silence.

"Um," Miko shifts in her seat "no, as far as we know, you're..."

"Dead?" In his voice are low octaves of sorrow and disappointment "I see..." The trio shifts in their seats as their counterparts look at them with an unreadable gaze. The idea of the identical Decepticon drones having individuality and being more than hollow followers of Megatron is new to them-and unsettling "no matter, that's in your world!" Steve cheers up "My brother and I are alive in this one! I'm grateful and making the most out of it!" Jack chuckles and almost doesn't catch it, Nakadai's smile, she turns away to look at the trees ahead whilst resting her slender hands on the wheel, he sees that her nails are painted to look frosty, and only wears pink lip gloss and eyeliner for makeup "Hey, while we're at it, let's all go to the mall for the clothes and to get to know each other better-to ease the tension! Maybe your femine can come with next time!"

"Speaking of which, how long will she be locked up?" Jack asks with concern.

"Hmm, hard to say, hopefully not long! I wanna get to know her too!" Jack cracks a smile and shakes his head.

"You sure are the social type, aren't you?" Jack crosses his arms and leans further into his seat, his smile still there.

"Oh yeah, and ever since my brother and I came to earth, I wanted nothing more than to explore, I love to learn about your species!"

"You have a brother?" Raf inquiries "I didn't know you can even have siblings!"

"Of course we can have siblings! We're alive aren't we?!"

"I guess you're right."

The trio's eyes widen and their mouths gape as Jasper comes into view, on the platform below is a bundle of skyscrapers, while not the grandest, they are indeed modern and surrounded by a sparkling city. With that view, they begin to descend the subtle yet short incline and take pictures with their now charged phones. At the bottom, they see stores for fishing and hunting which quickly merge with Jasper.

"Woah," Jack awes "but, how do you stay hidden? There are so many people here!"

"The road to Base is actually closed off, and we have a good chunk of land closed off too, most people don't even drive around here anyway, those who do just think it belongs to some old weirdo who likes to live in the woods." Steve makes a turn and they go straight to the center of the city.

The outlet mall Steve has taken them to is Native American themed, with Shoshone patterns on its floors made to look like quillwork, and has shading and sculptures modern and bright. Its parking building is made to be a giant wickiup house while its shops imitate teepees. Steve enters the parking building and spends the next few minutes cruising through until he finds a spot on the second floor. After parking, they get out and help Miko and Jackson from the third row. Raf stretches and raises a brow as he sees something about the driver's seat that catches his eye. He sharply gasps as black sand pours out of the fabric's dimples. The group looks to see the sand climbing itself to take shape and image of a light brown-skinned man with short, dyed-red hair, the man wears plain clothes and opens his red monolid eyes to look at Raf.

"What?" The man asks with a straight face-as if it isn't obvious enough. He adjusts his jacket and Raf's friends stop themselves from panicking "You've never seen a holoform before?"

"Not like that," Jack gulps as the man gets out of the car "Arcee uses it _sometimes_, but...you startled us."

"So bots in your world don't use it often?" The trio nods while their counterparts remain confused by the fuss "Huh, well it's useful to have when there are a lot of people around, and I'm _so _not gonna just stay here while you guys have all the fun!"

"Yeah." Jack looks at the holoform of Steve, whose old sneakers squeak as he runs ahead of them.

"C'mon, let's go!" The trio and their counterparts catch up.

Soon they enter the mall and see more sculptures that shimmer or shine under the sun. People, native, Japanese, or otherwise, all go about their shopping without giving the group much thought.

"I still find it weird that you guys freaked out," Jackson chuckles "the 'Cons use it _all _the time!"

"Steve's is a lot better than Arcee's," Miko points out "hers barely does anything!"

"You can thank my brother for that," Steve spins on his heel and walks in a backward manner to face them "he's the computer and electrical engineer, he made this better using nanites!"

"That's so cool!" Raf grins.

"How come we haven't seen your brother?" Jack asks.

"I guess he was busy with something, he always is." Steve turns back around and looks onward with a shrug.

The mall is full of stores of different kinds, from traditional clothing stores to ones for comic books. Everyone but Steve ate ice cream and pizza as they shopped. Along the way, they take pictures and share jokes while the trio stacks up on bags full of clothes of their taste. They were unaware of any time passing until the day becomes dusk, finally tired, they load their bags in the trunk with Steve's help. They grin and laugh with their faces full of sugar from the churros they finished on the way to the parking lot. Steve's holoform turns back into black sand and flows into the niches of his vehicle form as his engine purrs to life.

"That was fun!" Jackson grins and goes to the back row with Miko.

"Let's go to your house," Dexter cheers "I hope your dad made dinner! I want some _real _food!"

"I'll tell 'im we're comin' over!" Jackson pulls out his phone while the rest go to their seats.


	4. Darby and Jenson

As Jackson ends the call to his father, the trio look on to the passing city of Jasper and see how its buildings reflect the low sunset as its lights for the forthcoming night are lit. Miko cleans the churro sugar off her face then rests her head on Steve's window while Nakadai laughs as Jack tells of a time he pranked the school bully, Vince, with Smokescreen. Distance is crossed and Steve stops before the gates of the Jenson ranch, the automatic gates open for Jackson and closes behind them with a soft rattle. Ahead of them is a dirt road surrounded by thick pines and bright solar lights lighting the path to elsewhere.

The lit road shortly ends with a large clearing and a two-story log cabin centering it. The trio awe at the large house hidden from the highway's view as Steve lets the children out and transforms, nearly bumping into the truck by him. Jackson is the first to approach his home and rings the doorbell. The heavy door opens and a tall man in rancher's clothes smiles at the group.

"So you all must be my son's new friends, come in! I made baked beans and cooked up some nice pork sausage!" He welcomes them and leads them to the living room where the takes count of how many plates he'll need. "Jackson, can you help me with the plates?"

"Sure, Pa," Jackson leaves to the kitchen with his father. Nakadai grabs the remote and watches TV with Dexter while Raf and Miko look around the living room, the walls are made of debarked logs and the ceiling is a smooth and creamy white. The sounds of footsteps on the dark wood floor is heard as Jackson and his father soon return with plates.

"Sorry I didn't introduce myself, I'm Thomas Jenson, but you can call me Mr. Jenson. I-" Thomas freezes seeing Jack, his smile fades and his green eyes widen, making both Jackson and Jack gulp as Thomas awkwardly laughs "You...you look just like my son!"

"Well, Pa," Jackson starts "ya might wanna sit down for this one, it's gonna be a long story."

Jackson tells his father how Steve discovered the trio and how everyone came to realize who they are.

"So that's why he's wearin' yer clothes?!" Thomas chokes, Jack nods and self-consciously hides the shirt by hugging a cushion. "I have two sons now?!"

"I guess so, Pa," Jackson pats his father's back "we were jus' as shocked as you are."

"You know," Jack swallows his nervousness "where I'm from, I never knew you, I never even seen a picture of you..." Jack drifts off, Jackson takes notice and finishes for him.

"You left him and his mom-" Thomas bursts into a false coughing fit at the mention of Jack's mother, Jackson and Jack look at one another as the rest of the group stops eating.

"Do you want us to leave?" Asks Nakadai, Thomas clears his throat and shakes his head.

"Nah, sorry fer makin' this weird... I just don't wanna talk about her. On a lighter note, enjoy your food~!" Thomas forces a smile and starts to leave, "I'm gonna take a breather!" The awkward silence thickens as the front door opens and closes.

"Welp," Miko stands "I'm gonna change into my new clothes!"

"I should too," Raf says and goes with Miko outside to get their bags from Steve.

Outside, Miko and Raf are greeted with the sight of Thomas and Steve conversing, Miko buds in and clears her throat.

"Oh, hey," Steve smiles and kneels down "watcha need?!"

"We need the clothes we bought," Raf answers, Steve opens his compartment and passes the many shopping bags to the two children.

"Thanks!" Miko smiles.

"Oh, and there's jus' one thing," Thomas speaks up, "Nightwave told me more about the situation you three were in. How did you guys not freeze to death out there?"

"Arcee, she gave us a lot of campfires and we got wood during the warmest part of the day," frowns Raf.

"Why didn't you tell me? I could've lit the fireplace!"

"It's over at least," Raf smiles "plus, we wouldn't wanna trouble you."

"It really is no trouble at all!"

"Thanks," both Raf and Miko say as they head back inside.

Miko and Raf return with their arms full of bags. Nakadai and Dexter calmly look over as they finish their meal while Jackson and Jack talk in the kitchen as Jackson does the dishes. Thomas comes in shortly after Miko and Raf and glances into the kitchen.

"I also got your bags, Jack!" Miko chirps.

"Thanks, Miko." Jack is passed his share of the clothes.

"Oh, and I almost forgot ta ask if ya wanna stay the night!" Asks Thomas "We have some guest bedrooms you cn' use, the rest of you should go home before your parents start panicking."

"Thank you for the meal, Jenson-san, " Nakadai says as she gives a polite bow.

"Yeah, it was really good!" Dexter waves, Nakadai and Dexter leave the trio to think it over.

"I'm okay with staying the night," Jack shrugs as he holds his bags, what he doesn't see is Jackson grinning ear to ear.

"Me too! I wanna sleep in a real bed for once!" Miko chirps, Raf simply nods and Steve peeks in through the window then gently taps the glass, his red optic shine into the room like red Christmas lights.

"Are you three staying?" The trio nod "Okay, I'll talk to Prime and let him know!"

Jackson gets Jack by the sleeve with a smirk and tugs him to his room while Thomas walks Miko and Raf down that same hall, Thomas chuckles at his son's excitement.

"Well looks like someone's getting along with their _stunt double_! What about you guys?" Thomas looks over, Miko and Raf awkwardly shrug and look at the framed pictures of Thomas' and Jackson's family adventures to avoid the subject, Thomas hums unsatisfied and opens a dark wood door to reveal the room within. The room has a cozy bed with a buffalo rug at the side. "This is gonna be your room, Miko."

"Nice!" Miko runs in and explores.

"We wake up at five, so get plenty of sleep unless you want a cold breakfast! We just have some Cheerios in case you wake up late, and don't make too much noise if you are gonna wander the house."

"Okay!" Miko says as she bounces on the bed. Thomas now shows Raf his room, which is the same aside from an extra rug.

"Thanks, Mr. Jenson!"

"No problem, kid!" Thomas smiles and leaves for his own room further down the hall as Raf and Miko prepare for bed.

As Jackson's father shows Miko and Raf their rooms, Jackson opens the door to his. Jack is welcomed in and admires the neat rows of pictures of Jackson and his many friends, which include Nakadai and Dexter along with another group of friends.

"Wow, your room's a lot cleaner than mine," Jack comments, Jackson laughs and hops onto his bed.

"Well, Pa always did stress about keeping a tidy house," Jackson shrugs and starts to take off his boots and changes into his thrown together pajamas. "You cn' change into yer new PJs in my bathroom," Jackson points at the bathroom door and starts to make a bed for Jack.

"Is that gonna be my bed?" Jack asks as he opens the bathroom door.

"Mm-hm!" Jackson lays the final blanket and rests on his bed until Jack returns with his new two-piece pajamas "So, anyone special back home?"

"Well...there is this one girl, her name's Sierra, but she's way~ out of my liege. She used to go to street races and all that before Jasper was evacuated..."

"I hope she's okay!"

"Yeah...so do you have anyone?"

"I do, her name is Alexandra, here," Jackson pulls out his phone and shows Jack a picture of a girl with brown hair, sharp grey eyes, high cheekbones, and a large smile "this is her from our last date, but more about us later, you should so talk ta Sierra if you ever see her again!"

"Even if we do see each other again, what if she's with someone else?"

"And what if she's not~? You're me, you cn' get anyone you want with a little bit of confidence!" That statement makes Jack chuff as he lays on his new bed "Goodnight!" The lights are turned off.

In the dark, sunless morning, Jack is awakened by the lights of Jackson's room turning on and being shaken awake.

"C'mon! I wanna show ya something!"

"Like what...?" Jack groans and hides under his blanket, Jackson pulls away the blanket and leaves Jack cold.

"I wanna show you what we do!"

"Ugh, fine!" Jack mumbles and gets up as he rubs his eye.

Jack is surprised by the sight of Miko and Raf already up and waiting for breakfast at the dining room, which is attached to the side of the kitchen opposite the living room. Jack sees Thomas cooking bacon and notices Raf looking sluggish, but thinks of it as a consequence of being woken up so early, it doesn't, however, explain the paleness.

"Jackson," Thomas hums, "go collect the eggs."

"Okay, Pa!" Jackson puts on a pair of boots at the door and leaves with a large basket. Thomas hums and serves the bacon on a large plate then starts to make toast two by two with his single toaster.

A moment later and Jackson comes back with freshly cleaned, freshly laid eggs filling his basket. Thomas takes two eggs and cracks them over an oiled pan. Once those eggs are cooked, Thomas serves a plate and continues the process until everyone has a plate.

"So," Jackson nudges Jack awake "what're ya gonna do today while I'm at school?!"

"I think we'll stay at your base," Jack yawns.

"We can get to know more about the Decepticons!" Raf tiredly grins and finishes the last of the toast. Once the trio and Jackson finish they put their plates in the sink.

"That was so good! I haven't had a good meal in forever!" Miko grins, Thomas smiles and sips his coffee.

Jackson, after dressing up for the day, leads Jack to the horse stalls next to the house. Jack cringes and covers his nose as Jackson turns on the lights. Inside are three stalls and on the other side of the corridor is riding gear.

"Oh, don't be dramatic, the smell isn't that bad!" Jackson rolls his blue eyes as he walks to the first stall "Wake up, Sea-Biscuit!" Soft neighing is heard, Jack peeks into the stall Jackson goes in and sees an American white hose lazily stand with encouragement from Jackson, who smiles as he puts the harness on and opens the gate.

"You have real horses?!"

"Yep, we have 'em to save on gas when doin' some things on the ranch." Jackson secures the bridle and the saddle as Sea-Biscuit looks at Jack with their ice-blue eyes. With Jackson mounted, the blonde horse takes a few groggy steps forward as Jack backs away. The horse looks from Jackson then Jack and repeats that action "I think she's confused about seeing two look-alikes." Jack stops holding his nose and attempts to pet her, slowly he extends his hand and gently rubs Sea-Biscuit's head.

"Her fur is so soft!"

"Thanks! I like to keep it that way!" Jackson smiles with pride and leads the horse to the egress. "Hop on!" Jackson takes his boot off the stirrup for Jack to use. Jack clumsily puts his foot in, holds onto Jackson's arm, hops closer-and falls.

"Ow!" Jack tries to unstick his foot from the stirrup as Jackson chuckles and shakes his head.

"Not bad for a beginner!" Jack gets up with a grunt and tries again but with success. Jack holds onto Jackson's shoulders and lets out a laugh.

"I'm actually on a horse! This is so cool!" Sea-Biscuit neighs and trots out of the sables. Jackson reaches for the light switch and turns off the lights before they make it out into the sunless morning.

The city of Jasper glows in the distance as the blanket of stars above shine bright. Crickets chirrup and the occasional car passes by as Sea-Biscuit calmly walks along the dirt trail by the fence.

"So, normally, what I do every mornin' is check the perimeter ta see if anything's wrong or if something or someone trespassed. Then I'd go feed the calves, but Pa can do it for me just once while we take our time here, I wanna get to know you better."

"Okay," Jack looks at the stars "so, who out of the Decepticons looks after you?"

"Oh, that'll be Breakdown! He cn' be a bit of a scaredy-cat, but he's got a good spark. We weren't close at first, but we're growing on each other," Jackson takes a breath of clean air and Jack hums.

"Same with me and Arcee. She's my guardian, but we're more like partners now."

The two counterparts quietly talk of their adventures but were unable to share much seeing as how the chore is nearing an end.

"Well, the Arachnid from your world sounds terrifying! Anyway, there's gonna be a party at Brad's house today, ya wanna come? I'll sneak us some beer!"

"Aren't...aren't we a little young for that?!"

"Nah, as long as Pa or another adult doesn't know about it, we'll be fine! We'll steal some while they're not looking or we cn' get someone to buy them for us!" Jackson smiles as he puts Sea-Biscuit into her stable. Jack is taken back by how there is a version of himself who would go so far in recklessness to consider such audacious acts.

"Jackson...wh..." Jack trails off, Jackson sighs and rests an arm over Jack's shoulder

"It'll only be a beer or two!"

"We could get arrested!"

"Oh come on!" Jackson takes his arm off Jack's shoulder and scoffs "It's no big deal!"

"As long as there's no alcohol I'm fine with going to the party!" Jackson sneers then presses his lips in consideration.

"Fine..._fine_!" Jackson chuffs and crosses his arms "Just don't tell Pa about this and we're cool!"

"Deal!"

"Good," Jackson glares until Sea-Biscuit neighs and pokes her head between the two. Jackson lightens in mood and pets her. "Nice rescue, Sea-Biscuit."

They two make walk together in silence to the house and within they see Thomas getting ready for the day and Miko and Raf in their new clothes. Miko wears a black, false leather jacket over a pink shirt, a black skirt, torn leggings and keeps her old boots. Raf wears a polo with khakis, jeans, and has new shoes. Miko and Raf are sitting in the living room and look over to see the two counterparts back.

"We're back," Jackson smiles as Thomas walks into the room while straightening his T-shirt.

"Breakdown and Steve are comin' over ta pick you guys up."

"Hey, Pa?"

"Yes?"

"Can Jack and I go to a party tonight?"

"But it's gonna be a school night!" Thomas frowns "I don't want you ta get drunk and miss school the next day!"

"I'm not gonna get drunk," Jackson defends "it's only after school and until sunset! We'll be back right before sunset, I promise."

"I dunno, son."

"I'll make sure he lives up to his word," Jack steps up.

"Fine, but, can I talk with Darby fer a moment?" Jackson worriedly nods and tries to hide his frown. Jack and Thomas go to another room.

The room has shelves of books and a computer desk. Thomas turns to Jack with a serious expression.

"Look, Darby, I'll just get ta the point, if you didn't know already, my son's a bit of a loose canon, and I know that he drinks at parties. So, I want you to promise me that you keep him away from all the bad stuff, or at least keep him from driving under the influence. Promise me that, okay?"

"I promise," Thomas smiles and pats Jack's shoulder.

"Good, now go have fun!" Jack nods and returns to the living room where the rest are.

Jackson cheers on an animal rescue team on the TV as Miko and Raf are in awe, the rescue team is saving a buffalo from an abandoned tornado bunker. Their attention is torn away from the TV to Jack.

"Let's go party~~!" Jackson cheers and wraps an arm around Jack as he leads Jack out the door.

"Yeah okay."

"Huzzah!"

Outside, the morning sun finally rises and glistens off the vehicle forms of Breakdown and Steve. The two Decepticons transform and smile warmly, the trio awkwardly smiles back and Jackson grins and runs up to Breakdown.

"Ready to go to school, Jackson?" Breakdown asks, Jackson nods and Breakdown transforms again to let Jackson in. They drive away.

"Can you do me a favor real quick?" Thomas asks Steve as he walks off the porch, Steve hesitantly nods, "Can ya feed the steers?"

"Sure," Steve sighs and rolls his optics.

"Thanks!" Thomas smiles, Steve goes to a typical red barn near the house and comes back out holding a large back of feed. He walks to a square corral of neutered bulls nearby and cuts the bag with his battle blade before pouring its contents into a trough. Miko looks to the corral and smiles.

"Can I touch one?! I've never touched a cow before!" Miko asks Thomas, who chuckles and shakes his head.

"They don't like strangers, they'll either run off or ram into ya." Miko frowns and watches from a distance as Steve pets a steer, the steer moos with fondness and licks Steve's servo. Miko and Raf watch with envy as Steve transforms and returns in his vehicle mode. He stops before them and opens his back doors.

"Hop in!"

"Fine," Miko moues and Raf happily goes inside "y'know, it's not fair _you _get to pet the cows."

"Hey, it took time!"

As Steve takes Jack, Miko, and Raf, the trio looks out their windows into the green Nevadan mountains. Tall, dry grasses dominate the lower elevations while trees dominate the mountains.

"So why is Nevada so green?" Asks Jack.

"What do you mean? Isn't it green where you're from?"

"No, back home, it's a desert."

"Huh. Well, it's always been this way, it hasn't changed much since the indigenous people settled here from what I heard."

"Indigenous people? Aren't they almost gone?" Raf points out, he is still sluggish.

"No? They make up a good portion of the population."

"But what about the disease and stuff?"

"They're still recovering from that I think, but what other stuff?"

"The...the-ACHOO!" Raf sneezes and shivers as he wipes his nose "Sorry."

"Are you okay, Raf?" Miko asks "You didn't look so good since this morning!"

"I just feel a little sluggish..."

"Are you getting sick?" Steve asks with concern.

"I sure hope not..." Miko takes a picture and shows Raf how pale he looks, Raf gasps and touches his face.

"Well, we _did _spend a lot of time out in the cold," Miko frowns "I'm surprised none of us got sick until now."

"I'll turn the heaters on." Steve offers and does so in hopes of comforting his new, and ill, friend.

Raf took a much-needed nap while Miko simply awes at the city as they pass by.

"Man, if this was the Jasper I was promised in the foreign exchange program, I would've loved Jasper!"

"Really?"

"Yeah, our Jasper is in the middle of nowhere!" Both Steve and Miko giggle and Jack worriedly looks at a pale Raf, then to the mountains of box elder trees and tall grasses. The side road is yellow with arnicas and pale green with sagebrush.

At the Decepticon base under the mountains, Megatron stands in waiting and smiles upon seeing Steve pull in. To the trio's surprise, a man looking just like Silas stands by his peds with his longer hair brushed back and has a large smile. The trio cautiously gets out of the car with some whispers.

"Welcome back. I believe I haven't yet introduced you to Agent Leland Bishop, the leader of M.E.C.H., which is a government-run operation allowing us to reside here." Megatron starts walking away "I'll leave you four to get acquainted as I take my team on a mission."

"Call me Bishop if it makes you feel more comfortable," Bishop smiles wider "Prime told me about you, and I think you can use the special cookies that I've made after what you've gone through!" Raf, being the youngest and despite his newfound ailment, brightens and smiles hopefully.

"Can I have some?"

"Of course!" Bishop warmly smiles and jogs to the human lounge, where there lies a large plastic box of stacked cookies that are so large and fat, that stacks of three make the closed lid close to bursting, which it does once Bishop unlocks the lid's locks. The trio walks over and are each passed a cookie. It is larger than their palms and they can barely fit it into their mouths to take a bite. The chocolate in the cookies melts in their mouths and the walnuts softly crunch with the cookie. They smile and Jack untensed his shoulders.

"Thank you, Bishop," Jack politely smiles, Bishop nods and suddenly frowns seeing Raf's pale face.

"You don't look so good, why not sit down?" Raf sniffles and nods as Bishop sets up the modern couch and cushions so Raf can lay down. "I wish I brought soup!"

"It's okay," Jack comforts as Raf lays down. Bishop sighs and puts a nearby blanket on Raf. Miko tries to finish the remaining half of the cookie but sets it aside.

"Man, that was good! And don't worry, Raf," she pats his spiked hair "we'll make sure you feel better!"

With the whole day to spend they comfort Raf as his cold worsens, after returning with chicken soup, Silas, or as he is known here, Bishop, further introduces himself. He was once in charge of Special Operations for the United States military and left to join M.E.C.H. in helping the Decepticons. He stays in shape in spite of his love of baking, which he found after the stress and violence of being tortured by the Autobots, and uses it to also relax.

Before they knew it, Jackson, Dexter, and Nakadai arrive with their backpacks. The trio is at the human lounge and Bishop is telling them about his first time on a jet.

"...I was scared sure, but the feeling of being one of the few people who can fly such a fast aircraft was exhilarating!"

"Hey, guys!" Dexter smiles and runs up the stairs, then looks around "Where is everyone?"

"Boss said that everyone else is going on an energon run," Breakdown says.

"So, Darby," Jackson smirks "are ya ready fer the party?!" Jack nods and Miko looks envious.

"You are free to come to my house," Nakadai offers "my family is going to have a picnic at the mountains after school."

"Nah," Miko "sorry, but I'd rather get to know the 'Cons here and stuff!"

"All right."

"Maybe some other time," Raf offers, Nakadai smiles "I wanna stay and get to know everyone too." Nakadai nods and Dexter looks up from his phone.

"Oh yeah, you wanna come over, Raffie?"

"Don't call me that," Raf glares, Dexter smirks and shrugs then goes back to texting. Jackson sighs then smiles as he leads Jack to Breakdown, who has been sitting in the corner on a datapad.

"Let's get to the party~~!"

"You're really excited about this party, aren't you?" Jackson nods.

"Yeah, I get to show off my new friend!" Breakdown chuckles at Jackson's excitement and transforms so they can get in.

Once at the ranch, Jack and Jackson get dressed for the party. Jackson wears a black rancher shirt with jeans and his newest cowboy boots, while Jack puts on a Venice beach shirt with shorts and white Jordans. Jack bites his bottom lip as he second-guesses going to the party while Jackson hums a country song and brushes his raven black hair.

"I don't want us ta go empty-handed, so Breakdown will also take us ta the store fer chips and punch."

"No drinks, right?"

"Yes! You made me promise, jeez!" Jackson scoffs in annoyance and styles his messy hair to the side "We also need to pick up Alexandra, she'll bring some chips too." Jackson nods and stops feeling nervous as he tells Breakdown that they're ready.

The two sit outside at the balcony, the sounds of cicadas are quiet under the cool soon, the occasional cow mooing or bellowing is also heard. A pair of headlights greet them and Breakdown parks and opens the doors.

"Hey, kid, ya ready?!"

"You bet your ass I am!" Jackson hops in the driver's seat, Jack calmly goes to the passenger's seat and Jackson drives out of the ranch.

Jackson drives quietly to Alexandra's house in the suburbs of Jasper. Waiting for them at the porch is the brown-haired teen with grey eyes that pop against the headlight's lumination, she grins and picks up her purse.

"Hey~~!" She peers into the driver's window, her single braid dangles and rests on Jackson's chest as they sweetly kiss. Jack looks out the window until Alexandra speaks again "So who's your new twin~?"

"This is my cousin, he goes by Jack, he's a bit shy, but, he's cool!"

"Mkay!"

"So where do ya wanna sit?"

"I don't mind sitting in the back, Jack here looks too comfy to be moved!" She giggles and hops into the back. She unwrinkles her crop top and pulls up her shorts.

The three talk and Jackson tells a funny story about the weird things he has seen cows do. Such as that one time he found a calf in the bathroom chewing on the shower curtains after leaving the door open. Soon they make it to a house with people outside drinking from red solo cups and with the front door wide open.

"We're here!" Jackson finds a place to part and everyone makes their way to the front yard, but what none notice, is the black mustang with yellow stripes nearby.

*Lord Soluto, I have the human in my sighs,* Bumblebee darkly beeps as the three of them get inside *he seems to have two friends with him too. What should I do with them?* He waits for his lord's reply, once answered, black sand pours out of the driver's seat's dimples and forms a human with red eyes, black hair, and a deep scar on the throat.

Jackson is greeted by many people, which surprises Jack, who also notices a portion of the party lovers to be native, who wear normal clothing with decorated moccasins and have neon strings braided into their single braids to better set the mood of the party as some dance to the loud music. Jackson places the soda on a table with the rest at a table.

"You cn' place the chips over there," he points to a table full of chips and dips. Jack quietly does so and watches Jackson greet his friends. Jack gulps at the sudden attention when Jackson pulls him close "This is my cousin, Jack, he's from outta town."

"Hello, Jack!"

"Pehnaho!" _(Hello!)_

"Hey," Jack shyly waves with a simper and is nervous by the sudden attention. Alexandra raises a brow at the newest member of the party, a man with eyes as red as blood, holds a dark expression.

"Yo, look at that creep!" She points out, Jackson gasps in fearful familiarity then raises his hands in surrender as Bumblebee points a silver Ruger's SR1911 handgun at him. The music stops and the rest of the party stands still.

"All three of you are coming with me," Bee hoarsely demands. Jack narrows his blue eyes and punches the holoform then tries to take the handgun. All cower or cover their ears as Jack's scream of agony and the ringing of the bullet bellow in the house. Jack collapses as several people start to attack Bumblebee now that the firearm is out of his hands.

"JACK!" Jackson rushes to Jack's side and is relieved to see Jack wincing and groaning in agony as he holds his bleeding leg. Alexandra kneels beside Jackson and gasps sharply as Bumblebee skillfully hits several people unconscious and keep everyone at bay until he retrieves his Ruger.

"Don't try to be a hero, kid." Jackson looks up with rage at the Autobot as he points his SR1911 to Jackson's head.

"Why are you doing this?!" Jackson barks as his voice and body tremble with anger.

"Just get up, you're in no place to be asking the questions. All of you, get in my car!" Bee cocks the SR1911 handgun and Jackson gets up and holds Jack up "You too, girl." Alexandra, in tears, helps Jack stay up and all three slowly make their way to the front yard. Everyone moves out of the way and Bee leads the three to his vehicle mode while holding the handgun to Jackson's back. The people of the party call the police as Bumblebee shoves the three into the back. Jack holds his bleeding leg and Bumblebee turns around from his place at the driver's seat.

"Try anything funny and I'll make sure you end up like your new friend here."

"Why are you doing this?!" Alexandra sobs and violently trembles as the doors lock themselves and, as black sand, Bumblebee vanishes, Alexandra screams and the Ruger's handgun also vanishes. Jack hisses in pain as he puts pressure on his wound. Bee beeps and quickly drives away, leaving the people in the party in terror.

In fear, the three stay quiet as Bumblebee drives to the outskirts of the city while avoiding police, Jack is losing blood and is growing paler by the minute as a groundbridge opens and takes them to a gargantuan ship with little light.


End file.
